pen case

I was wondering if any pen turners bother to make their own timber cases for their pens. I know it's not economically viable to do so because they take so long to make and you can buy them for around $7.00. But I figured while I'm in the shed doing what I enjoy doing then why not make my own cases and save the $$$. At least I can say that the whole kit was home made. I suppose it's like why pay $30.00 for a pen when I can get a BIC for under $2.00. It still does the same job. Anyway here's my first attempt at making my own case. I'm working on ways to speed up the process and improve the quality.

Cheers
Shorty

Hey Shorty,

Looks pretty good to me, Have you done the calcs on what it really cost you, going on the 3 x Cost exercise, it will scare you I reckon, The $7.00 ones from Carba-Tec are pretty economical if you have to do 20 pens in a hurry, one of my clients says that anything under $100.00 instantly gets a 100% mark up, if it works for him, no reason it can't work for us:wink:

HazzaB

G'day HazzaB

The $$ value on my labor is not really that important. I spend all my free time in the shed making stuff coz I want to and its my hobby. If I can sell something, great, if I don't it doesn't matter. I just enjoy what I do.

Cheers
Shorty

Nice case there, I agree with your sentiments, but as Hazza says if you did it for a living it wouldn't pay.

But then, most (if not all) of the things I do in the shed don't pay:no::D

Nice pen case you have made there Shorty. I admire anyone that can do flat work because I can not. :- It will make a good selling point, that the gift a person is buying is all hand crafted by the maker. Hope you show more of your cases in the future.

Darren

nice box

without entering the debate - :rolleyes:

I think the real issue or point is to make something that cannot be mass produced - one off boxes with an inlay of the pen burl or some huon birdseye are going to hit the mark

something that is sold at carbi and is obviously mass produced is not going to hit the mark. It is not something that will be treasured, Whereas a handmade one-off creation is appreciated for what it is and kept because it is nice and different

whether the paying public will pay for what it is worth is another question entirely:doh:

I know its not the same but have you seen the high gloss boxes that you can get from Mark at 043turning they cost around 16 bucks but gee they set my pens off when i put them in there for presents.
I know you like to make your own but when you can buy boxes like that it makes them hard to resist

Cheers Ian

Nice simple pen box. Someone else made a nice one on here recently that was very simple. There were no hinges used either. I had a play with the concept and its a very do-able idea. I used tooth pics as the pivot point so the cost was only my time, some glue and the finish. All the other materials were scraps from other projects.

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Originally Posted by corbs

Nice simple pen box. Someone else made a nice one on here recently that was very simple. There were no hinges used either. I had a play with the concept and its a very do-able idea. I used tooth pics as the pivot point so the cost was only my time, some glue and the finish. All the other materials were scraps from other projects.

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See thread here

I think your box looks really good Shorty. Would show off any pen to an advantage. Great work.:2tsup:

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Originally Posted by munruben

See thread here

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Thats the one:2tsup:, I made my prototypes out of 42x42 pine with NG Rosewood ends and I think it was a 13mm cove cut router bit that I did the recess with?

Nicely Done Shorty , Making my own pen boxes is on my list as well for the same reason that Nick Said , A Custom Handmade Pen needs a Custom Handmade Box